Metrics That Matter

Profit, Performance, and Planning in Vended Laundry The laundromat business is like most businesses in that you need to do a lot of things right to be successful. But how do you know if it’s working? According to successful owners, you just need to look at the...

Startup to Scale

How Western State Design Has Been Helping Laundry Businesses Thrive for More Than 50 Years For more than five decades, Western State Design has been a leading provider of turnkey laundry solutions across the vended, on-premises, and commercial/industrial markets....

Member Spotlight: Lab-Tested, Laundry-Approved

How Laundry Labs Plans to Change the Industry In today’s business world, efficiency and quality are paramount – and the commercial laundry industry is no exception. Recognizing the need for superior cleaning solutions specifically tailored to laundromat operators,...

Wash-Dry-Fold POS Launches New Feature

Wash-Dry-Fold POS® has announced its new Attendant Checklist Feature. According to Managing Partner Ian Gollahon, it is a simple but integrated tool that is so powerful, it’ll make you wonder how you ever ran your business without it. "You can monitor the checklist...

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Is the Price Right?

Jan 28, 2015

Originally posted - March issue/2012 Accurately Calculating What Your Vend Prices Should Be Goes Well Beyond Figuring Out the Cost of a Wash and Dry It's not uncommon for newcomers to the industry to ask how to accurately calculate the cost of a wash and a dry to help...

What to Know Before You Sign on the Dotted Line

Jan 28, 2015

Originally posted - Jan 30, 2013 From our experience in brokering existing laundries and developing new ones, it is clear that now, more than ever, a building lease can determine the success or failure of a store. Over the last four years, we have had many store...

If You’re Not Looking at Your Business, Nobody Is!

Jan 28, 2015

Originally posted - Mar 14, 2013 I have a tremendous amount of respect for the small-business owner. As someone who has played on both sides of the fence, i.e. corporate executive and independent business owner, I have come to understand how small-business owners do...

Headlines

More Thoughts Off the Top of My Head

Observations on Life and the Laundry Business - The Sequel Just over a year ago, I wrote a column in this space, which was entitled, "Thoughts Off the Top of My Head."And it was so well-received that I felt a sequel was in order. As I noted in the original article,...

University of Arkansas Kicks Off ‘Wash Time Is Talk Time’

Free Books Provided During Event at Westwood Laundromat On December 4, Westwood Laundromat in Rogers, Ark., gave out free children's books to its customers, kicking off the northwest Arkansas "Wash Time is Talk Time"program. This initiative is part of the Laundry...

Loomis Bros. Names Sales and Marketing Manager

Missouri-Based Distributorship Promotes Matthew Lamons Loomis Brothers Equipment Co., based in Fenton, Mo., has named Matthew Lamons its new sales and marketing manager. In this position, Lamons will be responsible for growing the company's sales to self-service and...

WashClub Launches On-Demand Laundry Service in Bakersfield, Calif.

Brooklyn-Based Company Expands into Central Southern California Market WashClub recently launched its on-demand laundry service in Bakersfield, Calif. The city was chosen based on research indicating the community's growing population, which includes many...

Taylor Houseman Hosts Successful Event

Northern California Store Owners Turn Out for Education-Packed Profit Symposium Taylor Houseman Inc.'s recent Profit Symposium attracted approximately 40 northern California laundry owners and investors, according to company owner Randy Houseman. During the symposium,...

Speed Queen Sponsors Mudderella, Donates $30,000 to Support Futures Without Violence

‘Dirty for a Difference' Sweepstakes Winners Announced Speed Queen recently concluded its 2015 national sponsorship of Mudderella, an outdoor five- to seven-mile obstacle course event designed for women. Speed Queen joined forces with Mudderella to promote its "Dirty...

SBA Reopens Disaster Loan Filing Period for Those Impacted by Superstorm Sandy

The U.S. Small Business Administration has reopened the filing period for survivors in all states affected by Superstorm Sandy to apply for low-interest disaster loans. The new filing deadline for physical damage and economic injury losses is December 1, 2016. "The...

AHAM Report: New Home Appliances Result in Substantial Utility Savings for Consumers

New Technologies Boost Efficiency for Many of Today's Home Appliances The Association of Home Appliance Manufacturers recently released its 2014 Energy Efficiency and Consumption Trends report on major home appliances. The data, based on 2014 shipments of major...

Business Publication: WASH Laundry Among Top 100 Private Companies in L.A.

Laundry Facilities Management Firm Ranked with the Largest, Fastest-Growing Companies in the Market WASH Multifamily Laundry Systems has been ranked among the top 100 largest and fastest-growing companies in Los Angeles County by the Los Angeles Business Journal. WASH...

Get Involved… Stay Involved

The year is quickly coming to an end. The time seems to go faster and faster each year. As you reflect back on the goals you set out to accomplish this year, did you meet or exceed them? Did you do what you said you were going to do? It's never too late to set goals...

One Woman’s Laundromat Journey

Sometimes, it's about being in the right place at the right time. I grew up in Foster City, Calif. And my favorite restaurant was in a local shopping center there, which was located adjacent to a rundown laundromat. In 1996, through the grapevine, I discovered that...

Wash with Wally: Battling Garment Odors, Cleaning Tablecloths and More…

I bought a laundromat a few months ago, and I have been seeing the wash-dry-fold business decrease every month. I've taken my own clothes to my store to have them washed with our drop-off service, and the clothes came out smelling quite bad - to the point where I had...

This Month's Issue

Metrics That Matter: Profit, Performance, and Planning in Vended Laundry
Women In Laundry: Haley Gould Finds Perfect Fit
Company Close-Up: Company Founded to Help Small Businesses Shines
New Member Spotlight: How Robotics Could Change Laundromat Industry
And More…

THE LATEST ON LAUNDROMATS

Industry News

Continental Promotes Kilgore to Director of Customer Experiences

Continental Girbau Inc. has promoted Laurie Kilgore to director of customer experiences. In this newly created position, Kilgore spearheads the development and evaluation of strategic, tactical and operational customer engagement plans, programs and initiatives....

Laundry One Hosts Open House, Adds New Branch Office

Nearly 100 laundry owners and managers attended Laundry One's inaugural open house and service school at the company's headquarters in Canal Winchester, Ohio. The event featured a presentation by Coin Laundry Association COO Michael Sokolowski, who discussed "Industry...

EnviroStar to Acquire Worldwide Laundry, Skyline Equipment

EnviroStar Inc. has executed definitive purchase agreements to acquire substantially all of the assets and certain liabilities of Worldwide Laundry Inc., Miami, and Skyline Equipment Inc., Houston, using a combination of cash and EVI stock. Worldwide is a distributor...

Whirlpool Corporation Showcases Renovated Manufacturing Facility

Company Rolls Out New Line of Maytag Multi-Load Washers Geared Toward Vended, OPL Markets Whirlpool Corp. Commercial Laundry leadership recently took Maytag Commercial Laundry customers, several Massachusetts government officials and members of the media on a...

Unilever Confronts the ‘Chairdrobe’

Marketers at consumer goods giant Unilever are focused on what they’re calling the “chairdrobe.” It’s that heap of lightly worn clothes draped over chairs in more and more bedrooms these days, often crumpling people’s “go-to garments.” It’s a familiar sight in the...